Untranslatable Words

[zelda_pinwheel]

here it can be slightly derogatory but not very strong ; it's used to tease, not really to insult. but yeah, like a sissy.

[HarryT]

I was in a tool hire shop a few months ago when an Irishman walked in, put some kind of gadget down on the counter, and said to the man behind the counter "The f***ing f**er's f***ed". I though that was succinct and to the point, and perfectly described his problem. I wonder if one could say the same in any other language?

[mores]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

It is not a nice expression. It is the worst despicable swear. If it were in English it would be banned from MR. Please refrain from using.

If you go back to Montréal, never say "Montréal Canada" say "Montréal Québec" ... If you value your teeth.

(I took the liberty of correcting the spelling for ya)

Thanks for the clarification, warning and advice

But, I got words that NOBODY on this planet uses. My wife invented those when she was small and only her family uses it.

Aschelamoschna ... a general term that can mean "oh all right" or *sigh* or "fine!" or "help"

Pensch (pronounced like penche) ... a term for a connecting ... thing, or something between two other things. Like when you have two windows with a bit of wall between them, and you want to put a dresser there, you say "let's move the dresser to the pensch". The origin is funny, it's the connecting part in Lampenschirm. Lampshade. Translated it could be "psha"

Originally Posted by Taylor514ce

Use the doohicky there to turn that thingamabob one good crank thataways. Then you have to jigger that whatchmacallit a few times... naw, really give it a good whammy, it cain't hit back. There you go. Now hand me that doodad, and tell me about that Susy. Kissed her yet?

This bit made my day! I just got up and read this and almost spilled my cereal. T'will be a fine day!

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I was in a tool hire shop a few months ago when an Irishman walked in, put some kind of gadget down on the counter, and said to the man behind the counter "The f***ing f**er's f***ed"....

Beautiful!

I don't know if you ever watched the "Bodyline" TV miniseries, HarryT, but if you do can you remember the line of Bill Woodfull's:

"Okay, which one of you bastards called this bastard a bastard?"

I'm not sure that translates well either (well, it is cricket, even if it's just not cricket).

Cheers,
Marc

[Sunlite]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

hmm, very mysterious... well if you meet anyone from Dresden, ask them if they've ever heard of this word. if not, it must mean that my friend made it up.

No need to wait for someone from Dresden, I know and understand the word vergnatzen just fine. It is not really in use around here, but it does exist. I have to add that I have a colleague from Dresden. Maybe it is a word typically used only there.

[HarryT]

Very similar sentiments, Marc .

[Cthulhu]

@ Mores:

I would refrain from using your wife's "connector" word if you ever travel to Spanish speaking countries. Depending on it's pronounciation (never a sure thing here with our lack of umlauts, &tc) it could come across as a not so nice word....

[mores]

aha! Thanks for the warning.
penche .. pronounced like "pen" and "shhhh" ... what does it mean in spanish? Just curious ...

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I was in a tool hire shop a few months ago when an Irishman walked in, put some kind of gadget down on the counter, and said to the man behind the counter "The f***ing f**er's f***ed". I though that was succinct and to the point, and perfectly described his problem. I wonder if one could say the same in any other language?

well, it's not *quite* the same, but in french the word "s*laud / s*lope" is quite versatile too ; for instance, you could say "ce s*lopard a complètement s*lopé cette s*loperie, le s*laud."

Originally Posted by Sunlite

No need to wait for someone from Dresden, I know and understand the word vergnatzen just fine. It is not really in use around here, but it does exist. I have to add that I have a colleague from Dresden. Maybe it is a word typically used only there.

thanks for clearing that up ! i was beginning to wonder if i dreamed the whole thing. the Gnatz-Teufel will be glad to hear that his name is legitimate. i was dreading breaking the bad news to him, he's such a Cranky Devil ().

[Greg Anos]

Speaking of Spanish terms, (at least in the US-Mexico border region), try translating pachuko. A pachuko, is not exactly a hoodlum, but is a rebel, potentially violent but usually not, who considers himself a exemplar of his culture, (albiet a repressed culture), and usually demands respect for himself and his culture. And this definition still doesn't really fully describe the gestalt of the word.

[zelda_pinwheel]

i just thought of another one. i don't know if it has a good translation in english, i would be interested to learn it if it does :

décalé(e)

a very useful word. the litteral meaning is something like "shifted" or "deplaced". one very common meaning can be translated as jet-lagged, but it can also be used in a similar sense, when "someone" (ahem) has managed to get themselves completely off a normal timetable, for example not going to bed until 4 in the morning, without the assistance of long-distance air travel (or faster than light travel, or any travel at all, but all within the comfort of their own home).

it also has a more figurative meaning, for something which is "shifted" from the norm, like the opposite of "mainstream".

any ideas ? a word like that would be really useful to me in english, for obvious reasons.

(goodnight...)

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i just thought of another one. i don't know if it has a good translation in english, ...

Ahem Bedtime, missy! Appointments. Sweet dreams. Sunshine-morning pastry.

Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite. (translatable?)

Cheers,
Marc

[Taylor514ce]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i just thought of another one. i don't know if it has a good translation in english, i would be interested to learn it if it does :

décalé(e)

a very useful word. the litteral meaning is something like "shifted" or "deplaced". one very common meaning can be translated as jet-lagged, but it can also be used in a similar sense, when "someone" (ahem) has managed to get themselves completely off a normal timetable, for example not going to bed until 4 in the morning, without the assistance of long-distance air travel (or faster than light travel, or any travel at all, but all within the comfort of their own home).

it also has a more figurative meaning, for something which is "shifted" from the norm, like the opposite of "mainstream".

any ideas ? a word like that would be really useful to me in english, for obvious reasons.

(goodnight...)

I think if we want to describe the general feeling of being jet-lagged without specifically referring to jet-lag, we might say "out of sorts", which has unclear origins but might refer to the typesetting trade (in which the lead letters were referred to as "sorts").

Someone out of sorts is just a bit unwell, a bit confused, mildly disoriented. It doesn't however confine itself to feeling that way because of any temporal or physical "shift". So I think you may have indeed found another good example.

[Greg Anos]

I usually refer to that as having a "squirrelled-up circadian". I have one now as I have been working 1st shift, then third shift, then two shifts together, then....(Squirrelled is a South Texas Colloquialism for completely confused.)

[Taylor514ce]

Discombobulated? Same sense of being disordered, but not displaced. Well, for that matter, the term "displacement" might just be the best, though it does have several technical meanings, even in psychiatry, but I've seen it used in novels to describe that vague, out of time/out of place feeling.